Cheltenham vs Walsall - George Bennett preview
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00:00Hi folks, Walsall will be travelling to Cheltenham Town for their rescheduled fixture this evening.
00:09They were due to play them at the start of January but the game was postponed due to a frozen pitch.
00:17So, a chance for Walsall to try and build on what was a really good away win against Morecambe on Saturday.
00:25Obviously arrested a run of three successive away defeats in League 2.
00:31It was the first win on the road since New Year's Day.
00:35First clean sheet as well in 2025 for the Sadlers.
00:39So, lots of positives to reflect on.
00:42Walsall went through that mini mid-season blip which was starting to gather quite some concern.
00:52But now back-to-back wins against Chesterfield and Morecambe in League 2.
00:58So, eight points clear at the top, nine points clear of the trail impact in the play-off spots.
01:03So, it does feel like Walsall are back on track.
01:07In terms of that game on Saturday, the midfield set-up worked extremely well.
01:13The dynamics just seemed to click.
01:15Brandon Conley came in for his first league start of the campaign with Charlie Lakin dropping out due to a sickness bug.
01:23Conley performed a really disciplined role as we became accustomed to seeing during the previous campaign.
01:32Not quite had those minutes this season.
01:34Suffered with a couple of injuries below Ryan Sturck in the pecking order.
01:39But he came into that holding slot.
01:41Ryan Sturck technically started as an eight but cleverly kind of alternated between the six and the eight roles.
01:48And dropped in alongside Conley as part of a double pivot.
01:52And then on the transition, slotted into and stepped up into the eight role.
01:57And that kind of set-up really liberated Jamie Jellis who was able to kind of hover between the lines and dictate play.
02:07He produced a top draw performance which he capped off with Walsall's second goal and his seventh of the season.
02:14So, it feels like we spoke to him after the game and he said he'd been struggling with illness.
02:19And it took him a while to shake it off.
02:21But he feels now that he's really starting to reach his highest levels once again.
02:26Which is great news to hear.
02:29Whether Charlie Lakin will be back or not remains to be seen.
02:35Obviously missed that game with a sickness bug.
02:38So, Matt Sadler was unable to really confirm whether he will be available.
02:43Harry Williams was an unused substitute at Morecambe.
02:47Matt Sadler said prior to that game that he was available.
02:51He'd obviously come off against Chesterfield in the 3-1 win in the second half.
02:55Sadler said that he'd had a knee issue.
02:58But then when I spoke to him last week said he was okay.
03:01And he was available for selection.
03:03He'd trained on the Tuesday and Thursday.
03:05But then when we spoke to Matt Sadler full-time.
03:08And tried to speak to him about a reason why Williams wasn't involved.
03:13He said that his knee had been bandaged up.
03:16And he just felt that he needed a breather and a rest.
03:20So, whether he comes back in again remains to be seen.
03:24Josh Gordon ruled out for two months with another hamstring problem.
03:28Last week Donovan, Daniels, Priestley, Farquharson, George Hall and Jack Earing.
03:33All still out.
03:34In terms of the opposition.
03:35Cheltenham, very strong on home soil.
03:38And obviously managed by former Sadler's boss Michael Flynn.
03:43Had a challenging start to his time at Wadham Road.
03:47But he's really turned things around.
03:50And yeah, at Wadham Road they've made it somewhat of a fortress.
03:53Six wins from their last eight on home soil in League Two.
03:57Three wins in a row on their own stomping grounds.
04:01So not an easy place to go.
04:03And you know, Sadler alluded to that in his press conference the other day.
04:08So yeah, a challenging evening for Walsall possibly.
04:12But they will be hoping that they can use Morecambe as a platform.
04:16To continue that improvement on the road.
04:19Obviously 26 points now away from home for Walsall.
04:23Which has surpassed their away points tally from the previous campaign.
04:29So hopefully Walsall can now continue to get back on track.